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3 arrested in Slidell church burglaries

slidell church burglary suspects.jpg

Paul Mikell, left, Clariese Jones, center, and Olivia Jones, right, were booked in the St. Tammany Parish jail on simple burglary of a religious building charges in connection with several burglaries at El Bethel Apostolic Ministry in Slidell.
(St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office)

A Slidell couple and their daughter have been arrested in connection with two burglaries at a Slidell church, accused of stealing several items and then selling them at a garage sale at their home, according to a report from St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office.

Clariese Jones, 33, and Olivia Jones, 17, were booked Monday on two counts each of simple burglary of a religious building. Paul Mikell, 31, was booked on one count of simple burglary of a religious building. All three are being held on $30,000 bonds.

According to the Sheriff's Office, the pastor of El-Bethel Apostolic Ministry at 57361 Allen Road in Slidell first called authorities Sept. 13 to say multiple items had been stolen from his church, which is under construction. The pastor called the sheriff's office three days later, on Sept. 16, to report another burglary, the sheriff's office said.

The Rev. Eugene Wellington said music equipment, water coolers, generators and electronics were stolen.

Most of the stolen items have been returned, but Wellington said some of the more expensive things - like the heavy duty generators - still are missing. That's frustrating, he said, because the generators were loaned to them by friends and well-wishers who were trying to help.

During their investigation, the sheriff's office said detectives learned of a garage sale at 315 Brookter Road, about a mile from the construction site, on Monday. Detectives found several speakers, a CD player and other electronics for sale on the lawn.

Detectives went inside the home, and while speaking with the homeowners noticed two water coolers in the living room and another speaker in the back yard, according to the sheriff's office report.

Mikell and the Joneses told police that they drove to the church on Sept. 12 and Mikell waited in the vehicle while the two women went inside and burglarized the church, according to the sheriff's office report. They allegedly admitted to stealing music equipment, water coolers, generators and other electronics.

The sheriff's office said deputies actually pulled their vehicle over on Sept. 12 and arrested Clariese Jones on an unrelated charge. At the time, detectives were unaware of the church burglary, according to the sheriff's office report.

Mikell and Olivia Jones sold some of the stolen items to get money to bond Clariese Jones out of jail, the sheriff's office said. Another person, identified only as Beaux, helped sell the items, the sheriff's office said.

Mikell and the Joneses admitted to burglarizing the church again on Sept. 16, according to the sheriff's office.

Investigators obtained a search warrant for the Brookter Street house and found additional items that were reported stolen during the burglaries, according to the sheriff's office.

"It really hurts," Wellington said Wednesday. "We felt like we were violated. Here we are, trying to put the pieces together...and somebody comes in and just vandalizes it."